No human cases of avian flu in SA

There have been no confirmed cases of bird flu in humans in SA‚ the National Institutes of Communicable Diseases (NICD) said on Wednesday.

Media reports that a learner in Centurion had been diagnosed with the disease were wrong‚ it said.

Highly pathogenic avian flu A (H5N8) emerged in SA in June‚ and has so far been identified in five provinces: Western Cape‚ Mpumalanga‚ Gauteng and‚ in two outbreaks announced on Wednesday‚ in KwaZulu-Natal and the North West.

The NICD said there had been 24 localised outbreaks — three in commercial ostriches‚ five in wild birds‚ three in pet birds‚ and three in backyard poultry‚ citing reports received by the World Organisation for Animal Health.